“Never you mind,—you’ll find out all too soon. Now, skip, and remember, tea will be served in just fifteen minutes.”
The girls had really no intention of not returning, and it was not much more than the allotted time before Patty and Mona were arrayed in soft, pretty house-dresses and reappeared in the great hall, where tea was already being placed for them.
The big fireplace had cosy seats on either side, and the crackling logs and flickering blaze made all the light that was needed save for a pair of tall cathedral candles in their antique standards.
“What a duck of a house!” exclaimed Patty, as she came down the broad staircase, her soft, rose-coloured chiffon gown shimmering in the firelight. She cuddled up in a corner near the fire, and Hal Ferris brought a cushion to put behind her.
“It ought to be a rose-coloured one,” he said, apologetically; “but I didn’t see one handy to grab, and really this old blue isn’t half bad for a background.”
“Much obliged for your kind colour-scheme,” said Patty, smiling at him, “and I’ll have one lump, please, and a bit of lemon.”
Big Mr. Ferris proved himself tactful as well as kind, for he divided his attentions impartially among the four ladies.
“A little shy of men; aren’t we, Adèle?” he said to his sister. “Even Jim seems to have disappeared. Not that I mind being the only pebble on the beach,—far from it,—but I’m afraid I can’t prove entertaining enough for four.”
“You’re doing nobly so far,” said Patty, cuddling into her cushion, for she loved luxurious warmth, like a kitten.
“Two more men are coming to dinner, girls,” said their hostess; “and to-morrow, you know, we’ll have two more house-party guests. Don’t worry, Chub, you shan’t be overworked, I promise you.”